


A Light in the Dark

by Ghost_in_the_Hella



Series: Holidays are Strange [6]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Fourth of July, Kid Pricefield, Past and Present, Photography, holiday fic, pricefield
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:15:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25071502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost_in_the_Hella/pseuds/Ghost_in_the_Hella
Summary: The Fourth of July before Max leaves Arcadia Bay, she and Chloe take pictures on the beach. Two years after they leave Arcadia Bay together, they mirror that moment.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield & Chloe Price, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Series: Holidays are Strange [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1244693
Comments: 8
Kudos: 32





	A Light in the Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Some tender holiday pricefield, and hey! It's actually posted on the holiday. My apologies in advance to any photographers; I did some research on how to take these kinds of photos, but I'm sure the descriptions are flawed.

July 4, 2015

_July 4, 2008_

  
The sky is velvet-dark. The fireworks ended an hour earlier, leaving the small beach quiet. The breeze is salt and cool blowing off the water. Max’s feet sink in as she walks, sand crunching beneath the soles of her shoes. Chloe is barefoot, despite Max’s protests. If she steps on a dirty diaper or broken glass or something, it’s her own fault.

_Max is scared of the dark, normally. She’s the oldest kid she knows who still uses a nightlight. But with Chloe by her side, she feels brave. She can hear Chloe’s parents talking and laughing just a few yards away, and that helps, too._

There’s a camera in Max’s hands, and after two years it’s finally starting to feel like a gift instead of a burden. Therapy’s been difficult, but it’s helped. She still can’t use a DSLR without her vision going white with a dozen horrible memories, but Chloe’s taken to cruising thrift shops after work and bringing home old manual cameras for her like stray kittens.

_Chloe’s dad let her borrow his camera. It’s even heavier than it looks. She cradles it snug in her arms to keep it safe. She’ll never forgive herself if she breaks it._

Chloe is beautiful in the moonlight, smiling and happy in a way that Max can never see enough. She leads the way along the beach. The fireworks were beautiful over the water, but it’s even more beautiful like this. Just the two of them on the dark and silent beach.

A sparkler crackles to life at the touch of Chloe’s lighter. She gives the same excited laugh she did when they were kids.

_The sparkler traces patterns of shimmering light like a magic trick. Like fairydust. It bathes Chloe’s face in a golden glow like maybe she’s magic, too._

She draws abstract shapes of light against the dark. Max raises her camera, holds the shutter down for whole seconds at a time before she lets go. Long exposure. It’s impossible to get a picture of Chloe in clear focus like this - she’s always in motion, no matter how hard she tries to hold still, and the long exposure makes this all too obvious. 

At the same time, it’s impossible to take a bad picture of Chloe.

_She lights up like a sparkler._

“What do you want me to draw?”

“I don’t know. Draw whatever’s in your heart.”

_Max fumbles around with shutter speeds. Nothing’s going to capture this moment; she knows it. Nothing is going to capture how dark the night is, or how bright and beautiful the sparkler is, or the shapes Chloe draws against the night air, or how special Chloe looks like this._

_Nothing is going to capture the tightness in Max’s chest or the sweat on her palms._

“What if I drew a peen?”

Max laughs. “You have a peen in your heart?” she snarks back.

Chloe steps too close to the camera and smirks. “You gonna open up my chest and find out, Caulfield?”

_But she can try._

Max lowers her camera and pulls Chloe in for a kiss. It’s been two years since they left Arcadia Bay, two years of kissing Chloe every day. Her heart still flutters like a butterfly every time.

Chloe draws back and smiles. “Nice try.” She skips away, sparkler still bright in her hand. “I’m gonna draw a peen.” 

Max rolls her eyes and raises her camera.

_The pictures come out blurry. Dark with splashes of light, too soft to show anything coherent. She’ll cherish them anyway._

_Months later, in Seattle, she’ll cry over them._

As Max holds the shutter down, Chloe describes an arc with her hand: starting at the top of her head, sweeping up and then down, coming to rest near her bellybutton. She traces the same path in reverse on her other side. “You’re getting soft,” Max tells her as she releases the shutter.

“I blame you for that.”

_Years later, she’ll pack them into a box and bring them with her to Arcadia Bay. She won’t unpack them, but knowing that they’re there will bring her a small measure of comfort._

Despite Max’s best efforts, the pictures don’t all come out perfectly. The one she chooses to hang in their bedroom isn’t the best focused. It doesn’t have the best framing. It isn’t the most artistic or creative. But it’s her favorite. Chloe complains that it’s saccharine and silly, but she still smiles every time it catches her eye.

_Eventually, they’ll be lost. Swept out to sea along with the rest of the debris from Blackwell in the arms of a storm._

In the picture, Chloe’s face is blurred. It hums with energy and light against the black of water and sky behind her, a smirk just visible on her lips. She’s framed by the golden, sparkling lines of a heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks for reading this, and if you enjoyed it please let me know via comments and kudos, as they are the lifeblood of fandom. 
> 
> Thank you also to my beta and partner Velmax for the quick turnaround on this, and for making the same peen joke seconds before reading it. You know me so well.
> 
> To those who celebrate, have a safe and happy Fourth of July. If you set off fireworks, please be mindful of any local veterans or other PTSD-sufferers who may be triggered by the sound.


End file.
